It’s been two months since Lhea Noble was forced to leave her home at 4310 Old Orchard in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. She’s among about about two dozen tenants who still have no idea when they’ll be able to go back.
“For it to have been two months now with no concrete news is a bit stressful,” Noble said in an interview.
On Jan. 22, an emergency evacuation ordered by the city of Montreal forced tenants out of the century-old building.
City officials had seen an inspection report by engineering consulting firm ORTAM that called the condition of the structure critical, and called for an immediate evacuation.
Adam Checroune, the author of the November 2025 report, explains that the building had several problems when the new owners “Elfaco Management Inc.” bought it last year.
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“The previous owner let it go for far too long without … the proper maintenance,” he told Global News in an interview.
Checroune said when he completed his analysis, he felt the apartment should have been evacuated.
“I felt that the building should be vacated as a proactive action,” Checroune said.
According to Checroune and Elfaco, however, the owner hoped to delay an evacuation in order to prepare a proper plan to relocate tenants during renovations.
“They asked us ‘What can we do? Could we push this off a few months?’ We told them ‘Yeah, you could push it off, you can add a jack in the basement, and we monitor the situation,’” Checroune recounted.
Residents are upset that they were not informed of any critical issues until two months later.
“Tenants should’ve been made aware that it was unsafe to live there,” said Noble.
In January, the boiler broke down, and much of the building had no heat in a frigid stretch of winter. City inspectors were called to the building by a resident, and were shown the inspection report by tenants.
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Checroune claims he told city officials an immediate evacuation was not necessary, but then they pressed him to guarantee the city was fully safe.
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“They kind of strong-armed us into being like, ‘Either you put your name into full responsibility on the building, or we evacuate everyone.’ I cannot put my name on such an issue and say, ‘Yeah, no, it’s fine. It’s fine forever.’ That’s what the city asked.”
The city decided to evacuate the building.
Noble was among some of those provided with emergency housing by the city. Others have been staying with family or friends. Two months later, however, there is still no plan in place to return.
ORTAM says further inspections have now revealed fire damage and asbestos.
“Teams just finished the second batch of exploratory structural holes. The asbestos team was there,” Checroune explained.
Elfaco told Global News in a statement that the city evacuation order remains in place until further analysis and corrective work is carried out.
“The evacuation and ongoing process are being managed in accordance with directives from the city and guidance from two professional engineering firms who must focus on safety rather than speed of return alone,” Elfaco said through spokesperson Justin Meloche.
Checroune says he’s awaiting a report from a structural engineer and there is still a ways to go before residents can come back.
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“It will probably be around three months or four months. It’s quite unsure, but it’s at least another two or three months,” said Checroune.
Tenants including Noble feel they are victims of a disguised renoviction. Elfaco maintains its priority is the safety of the tenants.
“I know for a fact that they wanted to evict us for renovations. They have told us that before,” Noble said.
She believes with the slow pace of the renovations, many tenants will simply find new apartments and break their leases, paving the way for Elfaco to renovate empty units and rent them out at higher prices.
Some tenants have already moved on and suspect rents will go up once they leave.
“I believe that they’re doing everything in their power to take advantage of the situation,” Noble says.
“That could very well be an eviction in disguise, but how can we prove it?” wonders RCLALQ housing advocate Benoit Rullier. “How can you prove that sort of thing? It’s very, very difficult.”
Elfaco tells Global News they’ll cover all moving expenses, and will compensate tenants for a portion of the rent they pay for temporary accommodations, which Rullier points out they are not legally obligated to do. Noble said she’s requested a reimbursement for her expenses but has not yet heard back.
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Rullier says the landlord’s legal obligation is to make sure the building is sufficiently upgraded so that tenants can return.
People like Noble are losing their will to wait.
“I’ve really given up, and I don’t want to have given up. I tried so hard to fight when it first happened, but they’re so much stronger than us, and I just want a home, you know?” she said.
She’s still hoping to go back, but she and her roommate are now renting another apartment for $500 more per month than what they were paying.
“We finally found something that had no cockroaches, so that was really cool,” she said.
Tenants feel the city should be doing more to support them, and to pressure Elfaco to speed up the work.
The Cote-des-Neiges-NDG borough declined a request for an interview, but said in an email that its priority is to ensure tenants feel safe and supported, and is still awaiting a final report on the building’s state from ORTAM.
“We are closely monitoring the situation, maintaining pressure on the landlord, and will continue to support tenants throughout this process,” read the emailed statement.
